Pearl spooked, spun round and lost her footing on the edge of the ditch, causing them both to fall in.

The mare, who was uninjured in the incident, scrambled out of the ditch and was caught by the occupants of a car that had stopped.

Jenny was lucky to escape with just a few bruises from the fall.

She said she believes the lorry stopped further up the road, before driving away after she climbed out of the ditch.

“A lot of traffic by then had built up,” she said. “Everybody in the cars were really nice.”

Jenny was riding between two bridleways at the time and said that Pearl, who she has owned for five years, is usually very good on the road.

Both the horse and rider were wearing fluorescent/reflective kit.

“Most drivers are good,” she said. “The point I am just hoping to get out there is that the road is for everybody and drivers just need to respect that horses can easily be frightened and to slow down.

“We don’t like going on the roads, but we need to to get to other places.”

Lee Hackett, from the British Horse Society (BHS), said that horses and riders are unquestionably very vulnerable road users.

He added the BHS is “absolutely dedicated” to improving off-road routes for horses, as these help to keep us all safe.

“There is no doubt who will come off worse in an accident between a lorry and a horse,” he said.

“We have done a lot of work educating riders and motorists about being safe on the road but there is still a great deal to do.

“Drivers who aren’t involved with horses are unlikely to understand their behaviour and reactions which of course is frequently reflected in how they drive.

“We need to continue to emphasise to all motorists how to drive near horses and to make them understand just what damage a horse can do to a car and its occupants.”

Jenny has reported the incident to the police.

Jo Nuttall

In response to the story of the lorry spooking the horse. The very same thing happened to me whilst riding in Wiltshire in 1999. I was riding out on a Sunday morning with a friend. A milk tanker was approaching. We pulled into the verge and the airbrakes went off. The horse I was riding spooked, she slipped into the ditch which ran at the side of the lane, I went underneath her and she stood on my back as she panicked to stand.The tanker continued on his way, infact he shouted “get those horses out of the road”. I fractured my sacrum and was very bruised. We reported it but nothing ever happened. Lorry drivers need to slow down and only pass where it is safe to do so. Jo

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